[ EDITORIAL ]

Election Legislation: Simplify Absentee Voting

Published: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 12:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 9:55 p.m.

In the past, Florida required absentee voters to include a witness' signature and address on the envelope. But the requirement — which made it harder to vote but did little to prevent fraud — was eliminated in 2004.

Now, a measure moving through state Senate committees (SB 600) would reinstate the witness-signature requirement.

The proposed change smacks of legislative ping-pong, confusing voters and likely increasing the number of invalid ballots.

Elections supervisors aren't in favor of the witness requirement, a spokesman said at a recent meeting of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. Presumably, supervisors' staff would be the ones checking the witness signatures and addresses — a workload issue during busy election seasons.

Current rules do require that an absentee ballot certificate bear the valid signature of the voter (not a witness). Unfortunately, a substantial number of absentee voters forget to sign before sending in their ballot — automatically invalidating it. Some voters also fail to update their on-file signatures, leading to more invalidated absentee votes.

HOUSE CHANGE SENSIBLE

An election bill in the state House would ease these problems by requiring that voters be notified of signature flaws. The voters would then be allowed to go to the election office, correct the error and ultimately have their vote count once everything is in order.

The House change makes sense, and the Senate would be wise to adopt it.

The state should err on the side of voters, who shouldn't face disenfranchisement because of technical oversights that are easily corrected.

Philosophically, the Senate measure appears to be aimed at making it harder to vote absentee. That would be a 180-degree turn from 2004, when Florida — at the recommendation of an election reform task force — chose to reduce the barriers to absentee voting.

Senators should remember that absentee ballots are a bipartisan convenience for voters, who are best served by rules that remain consistent. In that regard, SB 600 is an unconstructive step backward.

<p>In the past, Florida required absentee voters to include a witness' signature and address on the envelope. But the requirement — which made it harder to vote but did little to prevent fraud — was eliminated in 2004.</p><p>Now, a measure moving through state Senate committees (SB 600) would reinstate the witness-signature requirement.</p><p>The proposed change smacks of legislative ping-pong, confusing voters and likely increasing the number of invalid ballots.</p><p>Elections supervisors aren't in favor of the witness requirement, a spokesman said at a recent meeting of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. Presumably, supervisors' staff would be the ones checking the witness signatures and addresses — a workload issue during busy election seasons.</p><p>Current rules do require that an absentee ballot certificate bear the valid signature of the voter (not a witness). Unfortunately, a substantial number of absentee voters forget to sign before sending in their ballot — automatically invalidating it. Some voters also fail to update their on-file signatures, leading to more invalidated absentee votes.</p><p>HOUSE CHANGE SENSIBLE</p><p>An election bill in the state House would ease these problems by requiring that voters be notified of signature flaws. The voters would then be allowed to go to the election office, correct the error and ultimately have their vote count once everything is in order.</p><p>The House change makes sense, and the Senate would be wise to adopt it.</p><p>The state should err on the side of voters, who shouldn't face disenfranchisement because of technical oversights that are easily corrected.</p><p>Philosophically, the Senate measure appears to be aimed at making it harder to vote absentee. That would be a 180-degree turn from 2004, when Florida — at the recommendation of an election reform task force — chose to reduce the barriers to absentee voting.</p><p>Senators should remember that absentee ballots are a bipartisan convenience for voters, who are best served by rules that remain consistent. In that regard, SB 600 is an unconstructive step backward.</p>